Kwacha ends week stronger

THE Kwacha traded flat against the dollar on Friday but ended the week stronger for a third week in a row, Zanaco newsletter has stated.
The report said the local currency traded a narrow range against the greenback on Friday with buying and selling activity matching out on the day.
It stated that exporters provided support for the Kwacha as they converted to meet local obligations whilst importers took advantage of the relatively cheap dollar.
The Kwacha ended the day at K5.42/5.44 having touched lows and highs of K5.42/5.44 and K5.41/5.43 respectively.
The statement said it was up two ngwee for the week. In the near term the Kwacha was expected to maintain a steady bearing against the dollar and should float within a K5.40 and 5.48 range.
On the money market, Friday saw market liquidity continue to decrease, while the banks’ aggregate current account balance reduced to K750.8 million from the previous day’s levels of K812.0 million
The total amount of funds traded by commercial banks was posted at K261.9 million from K273.5 million and the weighted average overnight lending rate rose to 10.12 per cent from 9.85 per cent.
And the Reuters that copper hit a 10-week high on Friday, heading for a third week of gains, on expectations that a global economic recovery would increase demand for industrial metals.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) hit the highest level since June 6 at $7,420 a tonne in intraday trade. It ended at $7,400 a tonne, up from a close of $7,310 on Thursday.